Ripana Fugu wrote:
I know I said I was just going to listen in, but I gotta ask, has anybody here ever tried takoyaki (squid dumplings:()?

Yep. It's quite tasty.

However, this really isn't the thread for that type of question (notice the topic is requirements for living in Japan... takoyaki has nothing to do with that!). I suggest you post this question in a food thread, or even start your own thread about takoyaki!

Thank you very much for your input, and actually, I just had to wait for a few more people to come on before I asked this but... Do you think that a appartment, or even a home in Japan would be affordable? I imagine it would be quite expensive, but anyway, I would appreciate any responses.

Okay, thanks for the answer. And I was also interested about the costs of living. Would it be "enough" if you managed to put away, say $20,000 before you moved to a suburban area? I know that's an extremely vague description, so, sorry.

Also, starting next year, I'll be going to a trade school for auto mechanics, so would that be a viable career as well?

shikitohno wrote:
Also, starting next year, I'll be going to a trade school for auto mechanics, so would that be a viable career as well?

You mean in Japan? The land of Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Honda?

A lot of people talk about going to Japan to do jobs that normal Japanese people do (manga artist, j-pop singer, convenience store worker, etc.), which I guess is possible, but... I just have the feeling it would be hard. Taking cars for example, when the employer has to choose between a foreigner (who needs a visa, will most likely be taking money out of the Japanese economy, and doesn't speak Japanese as a first language) and a Japanese worker (who... is Japanese, [speaks Japanese, will keep money in the economy] and has probably trained from a fairly young age at an actual Toyote/Honda/Nissan school), I can't think of many situations in which he'd choose the foreigner.

Yes, it is possible to get jobs like this... But I think you'd have to be in the right place at the right time and catch a shortage of labor so they'd have to hire you. It's a million times easier to get a job that normal Japanese people can't do, like teaching English or some job where you have to work with other foreigners a lot.

As for a place to live, if you were planning on working soon after you arrived, and moved into a fairly rural place, 20k would be sufficient. I live off less per year, but I'm in a teeny apartment, no car, and I don't have to commute anywhere (trains get expensive!!).